A large number of electrical connectors and counter-connectors are known that transmit electrical currents, voltages, signals and/or data with a large range of currents, voltages, frequencies and/or data rates. In the low, medium, or high voltage and/or current ranges, and especially in the motor vehicle industry, connectors must ensure permanently, repeatedly and/or, after a comparatively long service life, transmission of electrical power, signals and/or data without delay in warm, possibly hot, polluted, humid and/or chemically aggressive environments. Due to a wide range of applications, a large number of specially configured connectors are known.
Connectors or their housings can be installed at an electrical cable, a wire, a cable harness, or an electrical unit or device such as at/in a housing, at/on a leadframe, at/on a printed circuit board etc., of an electrical, electro-optical, or electronic component. A connector located at a cable, a wire, or a cable harness is known as a connector or a plug. A connector located at an electrical component is known as a counter-connector unit, often referred to as a receptacle or header.
Connectors must ensure perfect transmission of electrical signals and/or electrical power, wherein connectors corresponding with one another usually have fastening or locking arrangements for long-term but usually releasable fastening or locking of the connector at/in the counter-connector. Further, an electrical connecting unit having a contact device, such as a contact element, a ferrule, a terminal, or a shield contact sleeve, or a contact unit, must be received securely therein. In an assembled cable, such a connecting unit can be provided as a connector without a housing. Since the housings of the connectors are usually subject to a certain standardization, such as the FAKRA standard, the most important dimensions of the housings have the same dimensions across different manufacturers. Continuous efforts are being made to improve electrical contact devices, contact units, connecting units, connectors and assembled cables to make them smaller and more cost-effective.
In the prior art, electronic and electrical components for printed circuit boards, such as headers or peg strips, are cast with a sealing material for sealing. Methods for this, such as a potting, are complex and thus costly.